And, while the way these things are cited varies state by state, here in North Carolina, it might fall within the restrictions on texting and driving. That’s the take of Raleigh police, says Jim Sughrue, the department's spokesman.

“If a Raleigh officer was able to determine that a driver was using Google Glass to send or read any electronic material, it would fall under the same statute that covers texting while driving and would have the same restrictions and the same caveats,” he says.

In North Carolina, you can read that material while your vehicle is stopped.

But once you hit that gas pedal? Bets are off.

There’s a catch, however.

“The officer would have to have probable cause to establish that, in fact, the driver was doing just that,” he says. If you’re wearing the Google Glass device purely as a techy fashion statement, you’d likely not be cited.

But that’s Raleigh’s take.

The North Carolina Highway Patrol, interestingly, has a different opinion.

Jeff Gordon, spokesman for the highway patrol, consulted with an attorney who doesn’t find a connection between Google Glass and the texting restrictions.

“This is one of those interpretational areas that, based on the way the law is written, it’s just this way,” he says.

Industries:

Comments

If you are commenting using a Facebook account, your profile information may be displayed with your comment depending on your privacy settings. By leaving the 'Post to Facebook' box selected, your comment will be published to your Facebook profile in addition to the space below.